Iruka's Walk
by CecilyOctavia
Summary: Iruka is a brand new teacher at the ninja academy, and his history with Naruto Uzumaki makes him somewhat calloused toward his sensitive student. After he takes a walk, however, his heart changes, and something amazing happens.
1. Chapter 1

Iruka watched the students of the Ninja Academy file out of the classroom. Most of them were laughing, yelling, or talking with each other excitedly. As they passed, he caught snippets of their conversations. Ino and Sakura were arguing about something Sasuke said at recess, Chouji and Shikamaru followed behind scheming about how to get some snacks at the concessions stand a few blocks away without Shika's mom finding out. A few of the class bullies were spouting crap about a kid they called "the green leotard freak" who hadn't gotten into the ninja academy but walked by the school every day during recess anyway. Hinata was petting Akamaru while chatting happily with Kiba about the lecture in ninja- canine cooperative missions Iruka had deliverd that day. Shino followed along second to last mumbling to himself about how he was always forgotten and none of the lessons ever applied to him. The last person in line was Naruto. He said nothing.

As the young blonde walked out of the classroom, Iruka noticed his uncharacteristic quiet. Usually at the end of class, Naruto talked loudly and showed off, trying to attract attention and be noticed. At times, when his regualar efforts for attention were ignored or scoffed at, Naruto would prank or challenge the other students to a fight. Bad attention was still attention, and the poor kid often struck his sensei as desperate. But today, he wasn't making his normal waves. Instead, he was last in line, head drooping in a defeated manner, his feet shuffling slightly along the ground. It was so out-of-character for this typically ultra-expressive child to act like this, that without thinking, Iruka instinctively called out to the boy as he walked towards the door.

"Naruto" he called out loudly enough to be heard. There was a slight pause in the group's activity and conversation as the students turned their heads to see why their teacher had called out. After realizing his call wasn't meant for them, almost all of the students continued their conversations, save for a few bullies, who called out something about "Naruto butt- head" being in trouble.

Naruto stopped, and looked up for a moment at his teacher, before bowing his head again. "Whatever it is, Iruka Sensei, I didn't do it. I promise" he said in a low voice. Blonde bangs covering his face, the boy's voice sounded hollow and sad. "Naruto…" Iruka began, but was interrupted as the young blonde began shakily to defend himself from a reproach he believed was coming. Looking at the ground, the boy's voice changed from hollow to pained, betraying his pain and bitterness as he stated with finality "Look…I know I've played a lot of pranks, but I'm done with that. No more 'foolishness' from me. I promise you that." Looking up into his teacher's eyes, his emotions changed again; brows furrowed with pain and anger, he yelled "Is that good enough for you?!" But he didn't stay to hear the answer. As he bolted out of the classroom, Iruka thought he heard a stifled sob.

Reflecting on his observation, Iruka wondered if he should go after the kid. He had never seen Naruto that upset before, and it worried him, slightly. Granted, the kid could have roller coaster emotions every day, ranging from super-inflated pride in his abilities to major offense at the other students' taunting, but he had never seen the boy upset enough to cry before. Gathering his teaching materials, and straightening his desk before leaving, he wondered what could have made him that upset. The kid was tough; he was teased and ignored by the other students almost every day. You'd have to be strong to endure that kind of pain for so long. Did something happen to change his perpetually optimistic outlook?

"Click." Shutting and locking the door behind him, Iruka began walking towards home. On the way, he reflected upon his first week with the new ninja academy class. It was a difficult job. Every student had different needs, and the level of ability ranged from totally inexperienced students to child- prodigys like Sasuke Uchiha. It was his dream to be a teacher, but this particular class had been somewhat foisted upon him by the Sandaime. No one wanted to teach that Uzumaki brat. He was a problem child, always playing pranks, interrupting class, seeking attention in all the wrong ways, and getting into fights. Hell, the kid practically had a black eye every other week. Honestly, Iruka found his antics exhausting. But it wasn't that which bothered him so much.

He'd been a teacher for years. He could deal with problem children. It was the fact that the kid had the monster sealed inside of him. That monster had killed his parents. That blonde brat with scars like fox whiskers held the demon who destroyed his life. He hadn't wanted to take this job, but he realized that the kid would only end up being a burden and possibly a danger to the Village if he wasn't trained to control his chakra. Duty called. Seals like the one Naruto had didn't last forever, and once it started to wear off, he could wreak havoc on the Leaf Village if he wasn't properly contained. Just thinking about it made Iruka shiver. Reliving the hell he'd been through with his parents' deaths would be too much for him. He still dealt with the pain and loneliness.

Sighing, he walked out the school gate and locked it. He was tired again today, so he decided to walk home and reflect on the day rather than run over the roofs. As he passed shops and houses, he observed the Villagers' activities. People were buying food from stands, exchanging goods, and exchanging friendly greetings with neighbors. Peaceful sounds common to the village… they were always the same. Very comforting. Not far away, however, the peace was disturbed by what sounded like a yelling child. From about a block away, a boy was yelling "I'M NOT AN 'IT'! I'M NOT SOME KIND OF MONSTER! I AM NARUTO UZUMAKI, AND ONE DAY I'LL BE HOKAGE!"

Sighing, Iruka considered whether he should go over and see what all the trouble was about. After a moment of thought, he decided that it really was none of his business. He wasn't Naruto's parent, and he had nothing to do with it. Besides, he'd had just about enough of that kid's drama. Every day it was something. The first day of class, he put oil on the floor for Iruka to slip on when he came into class. He'd tricked him into thinking it was just the old eraser prank, but it wasn't. Actuallly, now that he thought about it, it was rather clever… just misguided. Then a few days later, the kid nearly took his head off with a stray kunai when he tried to imitate the Uchiha kid's multiple kunai throwing technique. He was always getting himself into trouble trying to prove he could be the best. The kid couldn't stand it when Sasuke (or anyone else for that matter) was better than him. The truth was that most kids in class were better than him. It was probably all bluster that he said he wanted to be Hokage. Just more attention seeking. That's all. The kid tried too hard… no one was ever going to like him. Didn't he see that?

Walking again, Iruka was convicted for that last thought. The kid was friendless and parentless. He knew that feeling all too well. After his parents died, he tried hard to gain recognition and praise, but was out- performed by many of the students in his class. It really hurt him that he never got to be more than an average ninja. He was too insecure to try.

Many of his classmates went on to become jounin, and several worked in dangerous and important missions. He'd probably always be stuck as a chunin. When he was in school, he'd finally realized this fact, and so he tried to get attention by acting out as the class clown….

Could Naruto be feeling something like that? He tried to put it out of his mind. He was trying to take his fellow teacher's advice and just ignore the boy. But that wasn't working out so well. In fact, it was having the opposite affect. Naruto was almost all he could think about lately. It could be that he was the most visible student because of his ridiculous orange attire, bright blonde hair, and rambunctious attitude, but somehow Iruka began to think it might be more than that.

Suddenly, Iruka realized he was walking in the wrong direction. He'd accidentally gone in the direction of the poorer part of town. Old habits died hard, he thought. This was where he lived as a kid. For some reason he was feeling sad and sentimental today. He decided to take the time and stroll back through the area; he was already here anyway, and he had nothing better to do.

Nostalgia, both good and bad, washed over him as he remembered his childhood. The neighborhood was slighty different, but not much. The area was too poor to update or renovate, so it looked pretty much the same. Good memories of being in the familiar homes he passed washed over him. His parents' friends' homes were almost as much a part of his life as his own.

Walking further, he came across his home; the one he was forced to leave after his parents died. Only a block away was the ugly apartment he lived in until only a few years ago. The village had so many orphans that it could barely provide adequate housing for them all. Once again, Naruto came to mind. What kind of housing did that kid have? Was he being taken care of? Pushing the painful thought from his mind, Iruka continued walking out of the poor district.

After walking a few blocks he was in a more middle class area where many his students lived. Passing a playground, he smiled when he noticed several of his students playing. Sometimes he forgot they were kids. I mean, he was training these kids how to be killers to protect their village. Surprisingly, he discovered Naruto Uzumaki running around happily with Shikamaru and Chouji. He didn't think the kid had friends. At school, all the kids were constantly taunting him. It wasn't hard to make fun of Naruto. He was an easy target. This thought made Iruka uneasy. It hurt him to think of a kid who was so ostrasized he had no one to stand up for him.

Just today, Naruto had once again stirred up trouble with Sasuke over his clone jutsu and the whole group pounced on him like he was an enemy, calling him 'scum' and 'idiot' for not being able to make a decent clone. Iruka stopped walking as the scene came back to mind. He'd stopped the kids, telling them to stop making fun and leave the kid alone. Naruto's expression came hauntingly back to mind. He'd looked up into his teacher like the world was suddenly right. His bright blue eyes brightened and softened. Iruka winced as he remembered the look quickly fade when he'd continued, "Don't bother with this kid. He's not worth it." The shock and hurt was evident.

Did he really do that? Did he really let his emotions rule so much that he'd hurt a kid like that? It didn't matter how much this Uzumaki kid did to deserve it or to provoke Iruka's stress and irritation, what he'd done was not right. Looking up at the kids playing, he noticed that the parents were coming to pick up their kids. Konoha was a pretty safe place, but good parents are always careful. The sun was setting, and Iruka could see Mister Nara's profile as the last to pick up Chouji and Shikamaru. Naruto was left standing by himself, watching the boys walking home. The sight struck Iruka as lonely. The boy just stood there for a minute, as if pining after a life he would never have.

As Naruto left the park, Iruka decided to follow him. For whatever reason, he'd begun to feel a bit of compassion for the boy, and he wanted to know what life was like for him. To his surprise, he found he was walking toward the wealthier part of town. He wondered if this was where Naruto lived. It wasn't. The blonde was simply walking towards a free training ground. Iruka watched in surprise as he took out several kunai and practiced throwing them at the post. He hit it every time, but not perfect center. He only threw one at a time this time (as opposed to the five he tried to throw when he wanted to beat Sasuke the other day).

With a bit of shock, Iruka realized that Naruto was practicing what he'd taught in class that day. His stance was off, but he was trying. With a pang of guilt, Iruka realized that his assumptions about this kid might be wrong. He was not a slacker, as he once imagined; he had friends (although they didn't stick up for him in class); he was probably not a bad kid, just needy and desperate for someone to care enough to show him a little affection.

After practicing for over forty five minutes, Naruto looked exhausted. He walked out of the training grounds and toward the road. Passing the Ichikaru ramen stand, he looked longingly at the shop. Teuchi came out of the shop as he was closing up. Upon seeing Naruto, he immediately stopped to ask what was wrong. The blonde replied that nothing was wrong, but his voice betrayed his sadness. Teuchi asked if he wanted some ramen, but Naruto replied that he had no money. Wait a minute, Iruka thought, no money? Was the kid getting enough to eat then? Were his basic needs being met? It occurred to him that Naruto sometimes complained of being tired or having stomach aches. He'd originally thought that was an excuse for not working, but now he wondered.

Old Teuchi was kind, and said Naruto could 'pay him back when he was rich.' Naruto's face brightened and his voice became excited as he yelled out with excitement. After Naruto ate, Teuichi gently probed a little and find out what was making the kid sad, but Naruto lied, saying everything was fine. Iruka wondered about this, but maybe Naruto didn't want people feeling sorry for him. He just wanted good friends. He didn't know yet that part friendship is helping others as they carry their burdens.

After eating, the young blonde walked back toward the poorer district, his hand laid satisfyingly on his stomach. Iruka somehow felt better knowing the kid had dinner. He'd have to check out how Naruto was being cared for tomorrow. He also needed to apologize to Naruto. He was determined not to let his emotions about what the kid held inside his body and his irritating antics get in the way. His heart was softening towards the boy, and he wanted to do the right thing by him, even if it meant he personally had to deal with a little more pain.

It was late now, and the sky was already pitch black with brilliant sparkling stars. Iruka followed Naruto past a drunk who threw a can of beer, barely missing his head. The man cursed at him, yelling something garbled about a monster. Naruto ignored him, simply running past him as quickly as possible. When he finally got back to his apartment, Iruka could barely see him go up the stairs to his home. The place had no lights. A place like this couldn't afford them. It was somehow comforting to see the little light at the top of the tower come on though. Iruka sighed and left for home. There was a lot to think about tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Naruto was back to his old self. He came in late, announcing his presence, and laughing about how alarm clocks don't work when the batteries die. Hinata offered to show Naruto her notes at lunch, so Iruka left it at that. He was still considering what his role should be in the blonde's life.

His thoughts a mess, he tried to push them aside so he could teach.

After lunch, Iruka called all of the kids outside for a test of how they could apply the knowledge they'd acquired during the past week of their studies. He was new to this job, and it was still hard to figure out how much of his lectures they understood, or were even listening to. His plan was to use practices to allow them to put what they knew into practice. He hoped that would cement the principles in their minds until they could practice it with their assigned teams after graduation.

He was not disappointed. Being a ninja was actually a great honor in Konoha, so the kids' parents worked on their homework and application at home. Some of them worked together with their siblings too. Hinata was working with her older cousin Neji. Many of them were learning not only their school work, but also their clan-specific ninjutsu.

As the testing began, Iruka randomly chose various sets of kids to spar with one another using specific skills he'd instructed on that week. Each set did very well until he came to the last pair.

With a shock, he out realized he'd accidently left Naruto and Sasuke as the last two. Internally smacking himself, he promised he'd make a pre- planned list to avoid this kind of thing in the future. There was a sort of unhealthy rivalry between the two of them. Naruto was always trying to copy and outdo Sasuke, and Sasuke always seemed to have this "better than thou" attitude toward Naruto. To be honest, the blonde was not the only kid who'd worried the rookie instructor's heart. Sasuke always seemed troubled and aloof. That kid had his own troubles.

As he prepared the boys for their fight using clones, he worried. Naruto Uzumaki was nowhere near the Uchiha's level. Naruto had a hard time with this jutsu in particular, and Sasuke was really good at it. He hated that he had inadvertently so mismatched them.

As they began, Naruto came out swinging before even attempting to make a clone. Saskuke made the sign quickly and as the smoke cleared, Naruto lunged at the person he believed to be the real thing. A puff, and the clone disappeared. Naruto lunged again, completely forgetting that he was supposed to show off his jutsu too. Technically the two were supposed to have their clones fight. Another poof and the whole class realized the second was also a clone. The real Sasuke came lunging out of the tree, jumping on top of Naruto and pinning him face up with a ferocity that shocked both Naruto and Iruka. The blonde's head thunked hard against the ground, and Iruka saw the stinging tears he tried to hold back as he looked up into the hate- filled eyes of the Uchiha. Looking up at his shocked sensei, Sasuke's face turned again to boredom as he asked simply "Done?" Iruka nodded and the raven let go of his victim.

Surprisingly, the class hadn't seemed to notice how fierce the Uchiha kid got when practicing his jutsu. It was like he didn't see it as a practice. He saw it as preparation for the real thing. This kid had an unhealthy maturity and far-sightedness that the other kids didn't understand. They just saw his skill, pizazz and cool attitude. After he stood, the class applauded him. Then somebody called out, "Hey! Naruto never actually made a clone." His thought was followed by a refrain of "yeah" and "hey that's true."

Naruto, still slightly dazed from it all, and head still throbbing, slowly, and with a great deal of concentration, formed the signs for the clone jutsu. "Clone jutsu!" he called out. But what appeared was a great disappointment. His clone lay on the ground, helpless to do anything, especially fight. The kids laughed hysterically. "That guy's such an idiot!" one kid called out. To add insult to injury, Shino added to a friend that "it's going to take forever for sensei to teach us anything if guys like this hold us back." A quick murmur of agreement in the crowd, and another kid got in Naruto's face, saying "Yeah. You're an annoyance."

All of this happened in a matter of moments, and for a second Iruka forgot he was supposed to be in charge. Moments like this sometimes reminded him of being back in school himself, and he felt helpless to do anything. But he shook it off and firmly instructed everyone to go inside.

After school ended that day, Iruka looked for Naruto, but didn't see him leave. He still hadn't decided what his role with the kid should be, but he felt compassion and wanted to apologize for the way he'd acted a few days before when he said the rest of the kids "shouldn't bother" with him. He also wanted to find out if Naruto had enough help and care. Last night's walk had really disturbed him, especially finding out the kid didn't even have a few dollars to spare for emergencies. Somebody needed to help him learn how to budget if he was running out before the next month's pay came through.

Gathering up his things and walking outside, Iruka resolved to think about these things some more after he'd napped a while at home. He hadn't slept well last night thinking about the kid.

Passing by the training grounds, he heard a muffled sound. Immediately he recognized it as crying. Looking behind a large tree, he found Naruto, seated on the ground with his back to the trunk. The blonde didn't notice his sensei at first. His slumped figure leaned into his arms, his face pressed into his hands. Muffled, soft cries came from his student's heaving chest. Iruka wondered if he'd been holding this pain in all day since lunch, or if something else had happened to set him off.

As Iruka paused to figure out what to do, the hopelessness of the boy's cry caused his heart to beat painfully in his chest. He knew all too well that feeling of depression. Really, the sad part was that he still often felt it. How could he help this kid, when he, himself, didn't know how to deal with that pain? Suddenly, the rookie instructor felt an urge to leave before the kid noticed. That was what he always did when he felt this way: run. Self- consciously, and somewhat angrily, he chided himself in his mind for thinking of doing such as thing. This kid needed love, more than Iruka could give him, but if he didn't try, he was just as bad as everyone else.

Gently, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. With a shock, azul blue eyes with tears looked up fearfully into his sensei's eyes. Surprisingly, they relaxed when they realized who it was there. Iruka assumed he'd deeply wounded the boy last week, but he seemed to trust his sensei more than the person he'd was touching him. Maybe that was because of the look of compassion in his eyes.

Looking downwards, the blonde said "I'm sorry sensei. I'm trying to be strong. I just don't know what to do. I'm not usually a crybaby. I… I…" The boy searched for something to say to avoid looking weak again in front of his sensei.

Sitting down across from his student, Iruka said "Naruto. It's okay. I'm not upset with you. We all cry sometimes. It's not a bad thing." The sudden surprise at that statement caused Naruto's tears to stop flowing, and he began to stutter out something incoherent. Again, Iruka assured him he was not in trouble. "It's okay, Naruto. I'm not here to chide you. You haven't done anything wrong. Would you like to tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help."

The tears began flowing again from Naruto's wide blue eyes as the boy contemplated what he ought to do. The wheels in his head were so obvious to Iruka. He was scared of why his teacher would so suddenly take an interest in his troubles. Why anyone would. What was going on?

Iruka decided to probe with a question to see if he could get Naruto to open up. "Are you crying about this afternoon with Sasuke, or did something happen just now? Or is it something else?" He waited a moment before adding in a bit of a rushed, rambling voice, "I want to help you Naruto. I really do care about you. I'm sorry I haven't been good at showing that, and I was looking for you today to tell you how sorry I am for treating you badly in front of the other kids a few days ago. You have no idea how badly I feel about that. It wasn't on purpose. I'm so sorry."

Now tears were filling Iruka's eyes. His gaze had wandered off a bit during his ramble, but when he looked back at Naruto, the boy's wide eyes were still trained right on his face.

"You… care about me?" Naruto asked tentatively.  
"Why?"  
Iruka was silent for a moment.

"Because I know what it's like to be lonely."  
Another moment of silence.

Iruka sighed. "I hate to see you in pain like I was. I want my students to be happy."

Naruto finally breathed out a large breath he'd been holding in.  
He finally seemed to decide to believe his sensei, and his relief was tangible.

As if trying to decide how much pain to unload, Naruto carefully began with his emotions about school that day. "In practice today, Sasuke really hurt me. Not physically, but his eyes really scared me. I've tried to be friends with him for so long, but he hates me. I don't know why. We're both orphans, and I see his pain, just like you see mine, but he doesn't care. I've tried to talk with him before, but it's like he doesn't care about anything but becoming a great ninja. He scares me sometimes with how intense he can be. To be honest, I wondered if he was going to kill me today. His eyes were so scary… I just… I just want to be friends. I don't know why. He's just important to me for some reason."

Iruka tried to take it all in as Naruto continued.

"I'm bad at making friends, and sometimes I get really upset because everyone seems to hate me here at school. Even some kids who like me outside of school don't seem to want to admit it here. I'm just the loser here. I can't things right, even though I try really hard…"

The blonde took deep breath to keep from crying again, and stopped after he realized he'd said more than he wanted to.

"I'm so sorry Naruto" Iruka replied. "I can't tell you everything to do. I used to be that way myself in school." The azul eyes again focused in surprise at his sensei. "I know that Sasuke has a lot of issues he's dealing with. I don't think he really hates you. I don't know what it is… Also, I've seen how hard you work. I know you don't have anyone to help you, so I want you to feel free to come to me for any extra help when you need it. Never be afraid to ask, okay? I'm here for you."

Naruto took a deep breath, but Iruka held his.

"I…" the boy started but choked before finishing.  
"Yes?" Iruka asked gently.  
"Thank you!" Naruto blurted, letting out his breath.

Emotion overtook the boy and he began blubbering out sobs.  
Iruka schooched a little closer to Naruto and again place his hand on his shoulder.  
Taking a big risk, the young boy leaned into the embrace and gave his sensei a hug.

For a moment, Iruka was stunned by the feeling of the boy burying his snooty face into his shoulders and wrapping his arms around his waist. He wasn't sure how to react. This wasn't what he'd expected, and at first it felt like too much. But after an instant of wanting to pull back, he tenderly placed his arms around the boy. They stayed there a minute until the kid's sobbing stopped shaking his body. When his buried face emerged, he had the biggest smile on his face. That smile said it all. Iruka hadn't felt so loved in a long time. He hadn't really done that much for the kid, but to Naruto it meant the world. His heart softened at the thought that he had someone to care about him. He hadn't really felt such intimate care in a while. It was good. It wasn't only Naruto's heart that was helped just then. His was too.

Suddenly the boy's stomach growled.  
Iruka remembered he didn't have any money and asked "Are you hungry? We could go get something to eat. My treat."

"Could we go get Ichikaru's Ramen?!" Naruto said jumping with excitement.  
"Sure! You lead the way."

As they walked, Naruto practically skipped, telling Iruka about Ichikaru's ramen and how nice he and his daughter were. As he listened, he felt so much peace and happiness. Somehow, this relationship just felt right. He knew instinctively that this boy was someone special he ought to hold onto. As they walked he found that his heart felt light, a sensation he hadn't felt since before his parents died. Somehow this all was very healing to him, and for Naruto too. Even though this boy was so young, he felt a special kind of friendship would develop between them, and as they approached the stand, he was happy to think of what that might look like.


End file.
